Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on the rural proofing of its policies.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government takes the concerns of all communities into consideration in the development of its policies, including recognising the unique circumstances of rural areas. For example, we are undertaking a review of local authorities' relative needs and resources to address concerns about the fairness of current funding distributions. Working closely with both local government and other government departments, including DEFRA as champions for rural proofing, we are conducting a thorough, evidence based review of the costs faced by all authorities. This includes how factors such as rurality, sparsity and other geographical features affect the cost of delivering services across the country.